In business and life we often think that one big thing is going to push us over the top. Well, it's not! One video, tweet or Instagram is not going to blow up your business. Stop thinking it will! It takes time, energy, dedication and a whole lot of hard work to be successful! You will not win the lottery and that's okay!
Ep. 1 - Lean Into What God Has For You
I took a bit of a hiatus from the podcast, but I am back and now in video format! I've really been learning that when I do things because God calls me to do them my life is better than doing things for praise, likes, or adoration.
Hawaii Vacation 2016
Brooke, June and I just got back from Hawaii last night. Turns out it's a lot colder in Pennsylvania than it is in Hawaii in January...Who knew?
The trip to Hawaii was actually a Christmas present from my parents, which ROCKED OUR SOCKS OFF WHEN THEY TOLD US! It was an unbelievable blessing to us that we will forever be thankful for. It had been quite a while since Brooke and I had been on a "no work" extended vacation so to have one to start off the year was refreshing!
The trip was a family affair for me. My parents, older brother nick and his family as well as my younger sister Samantha and her family all came. So if you see any people in the photos that look like me, its because we are related. The trip was a blast!
HERE ARE MY TOP 10 MOMENTS IN HAWAII:
1. Just being there with Brooke and June
2. Watching June loooooooove the water
3. Hiking up Diamond Head Mountain with June on my back
4. Eating at Leonards Bakery....Portuguese donuts for life!
5. Eating at the Rainbow Drive-Thru
6. Taking photos of Brooke and June
7. Watching Brooke take photos of everything (that's a favorite of mine all the time)
8. Being able to be there with some of my family members
9. Eating a box of dark chocolate covered macodamian nuts every night for dessert...don't judge
10. Watching the sunset with my girls on our last night
If you ever go anywhere with water on vacation, just bite the bullet and buy the underwater LifeProof iPhone case. It is so worth it! Enjoy the photos Brooke and I took!
The last photo is June after our flight landed. I think at that point she was over traveling....so were we! 😂
Top 9 Moments of 2015
The other day on Instagram and Facebook people started posting their "2015 Best Nine." If you are looking for the site to create your 2015 Best Nine you can find it right here - 2015bestnine.com.
I generated mine and it was all photos of June.... annnnnnd one photo of an easter egg...😂
While I do love all of these photos of June and the one of the Easter egg, they aren't exactly my personal top nine moments. So, I thought I would share my actual top nine moments that touched, moved and challenged me the most in all of 2015. Enjoy!
TOP nine MOMENTS OF 2015:
1. The birth of June Morrow! February 12, 2015 @ 8:39pm
Nothing has changed my life more this year than the birth of June! She is unbelievable and is constantly teaching her mother and I what love is and how full our hearts can be. Here are a few posts I wrote this year about all the things June taught me. Having a kid will open up parts of your heart that you didn't know existed.
2. Watching Brooke give birth to June! February 11 + 12, 2015
Brooke giving birth to June was unbelievable. I tried to describe all the things she taught me while in labor and delivery but I don't know if words will ever fully articulate the feelings I get in my heart when I think of all Brooke went through to bring our sweet June into this world. Here is the post about all she taught me - DAD'S BIRTH STORY : ALL THE LESSONS MY WIFE TAUGHT ME
3. One Night Only. October 27, 2015
One Night Only was born out of a call that God placed on my heart while I was washing dishes. It was definitely a challenge for me to trust God and walk through the calling He placed on my heart. God will always walk us through things that are otherwise impossible without Him. I learned that in a big way this year by trusting Him while planning One Night Only. It was a true lesson in faith and obedience for me and I am so thankful for it!
4. Saying Goodbye to Weddings. March 2015
This is the year that Brooke and I decided to retire from shooting weddings. We felt God calling us into a new season of life. We are forever thankful for what our career in weddings brought and taught us, but are excited for what God will lead us into next! Here is the full post about our decision to move on - Seven Years For a Footnote!
5. Throwing Away All The Things. October/November 2015
In October/November of this past year Brooke and I purged our house and yard-saled/gave away/threw out most of our things. We felt like this whole year God has called us to simplify our life and instead of just talking about it, we backed it up with action. Here is the full post about the process and decision - Throw Away All The Things.
My favorite line from the post - "When I think about the end of my life I don't think that I want to end with a giant house, a boat and a gold toilet. I think that I want to end knowing that I lived for Jesus and am ending with Him and Him alone. Physically getting rid of my things is helping me realize more and more that I don't need any of it."
6. Brooke's Voice Surgery. November 2, 2015
This year Brooke had surgery on a vocal polyp. It was followed by 10 days of voice rest. I was so proud of her willingness to face something so challenging with so much grace. I have tried many times to write about the voice rest and the surgery, but it's a little too hard for me to verbalize. Brooke is constantly showing me what real love is. Her strength to stay silent while loving June and I for 10 days was remarkable and unbelievable! While I have yet to write about the actual voice rest, I did write a post this year about the hope that we have for Brooke's voice - Brooke Will Sing Again.
7. Having A Post Go Viral - September 16, 2015
The 10 Hard Steps to An Awesome Marriage (that are totally worth it)! post I wrote in September went viral this year, which was incredible! It is still my most read post and every now and then my website hits spike upwards because a new group of people are passing it around. I love writing about marriage and loving my wife as well as I can. I think if more husbands valued their wives by loving them well, a lot of issues in our world would be fixed.
Here are some other posts I wrote about marriage this year:
8. Eating Pizza In California - May 2, 2015
This year we were able to travel to California and shoot the marketing material for our summer collection with the coolest group of strangers we've ever met. The wonderful world of the internet hooked us up with these people. They are all chasing their dreams as models and actors in southern California! After we were done shooting we all sat down to eat dinner at a pizza shop. During that dinner we spent time sharing our hopes, goals and wild dreams. It was one of the most inspiring conversations I had all year. We left that dinner table with six new friends. I hope that all the dreams God placed on our heart to share that night come true with Him at the center of it all and for His eternal glory!
9. You - All Year
I read all the comments, saw all the likes and was honored by all the shares. I look at all the #iwearwalkinlove photos. I am forever thankful that I have an audience of people who care about what I do and say. I know that all my posts aren't home runs, or even singles, but I hope that at times my words can inspire you to chase your dreams, live with passion and end with the amazing and overwhelming love of Jesus! Thanks for following along in 2015 and I hope you stick around for 2016!
FAVORITE THINGS FROM 2015
Favorite Album - Del Rio by Armon Jay
Favorite Movie - Star Wars : The Force Awakens
Favorite New TV Show (For Me) : Person of Interest
Favorite Photo of Brooke and I
Some of my favorite photos of June!
Favorite New walk in love. t-shirt
Favorite Message - Grace, Grace! Two Steps To Your Left by Levi Lusko
HAPPY NEW YEAR!
Let's Dropkick 2016 in the Throat!
I am pumped up for 2016! It will be the first year that Brooke and I don't have to shoot weddings and can focus all of our work time and creative attention on walk in love. It is going to be awesome! We are so excited!
Every new year brings the opportunity to achieve something great, but only as long as you set yourself up well and follow through on your words with action! It's all on you to set, plan and achieve your goals. No one else can do it but you. Yep, just you. Not your husband, wife, mom, dad, teacher, coach, mentor....just you!
Will you crumble under the pressure and spend another year half heartedly living your life? Or will you finally rise up and achieve, or at least try to achieve, some of those things you've always said you would do?
Now I am not talking about general "check list" New Year's resolutions that are abandoned the second week in January like, "Eat healthier! Watch less TV! Run more." I am talking about big, radical and amazing goals like "Lose 100 pounds. Increase sales by 20%. Write a book. Run a marathon!" Goals that are scary to say out loud because to most they would sound so outrageous. Goals that require faith in God and trusting in Him because on your own it would be impossible. THAT is what I am talking about!
So, do you have it in you to reach for that kind of crazy-amazing goal?
Because it's one thing to tell someone a goal out loud or on Instagram for the praise and applause, but it's another thing to actually walk and grind it out.
I want to be the type of guy that walks out his goals and grinds away at them until they are achieved. And then once celebrated, I am on to the next one.
Here is the thing though, unfortunately (for many reasons!), I am not Harry Potter. I can't just wave my wrist while holding a twig and expect things to magically happen just because I said they would. It takes action and I have to set myself up for success. I have to put one foot in front of the other, step by step, so one larger goal can be achieved!
Here are a few tools I am using this year to help achieve a few of my crazy goals for 2016:
1. Lara Casey Power Sheets : Lara has been a great friend of mine for many years. She is an amazing woman who has dedicated her life to helping people make it happen. If you want to get fired up about business and life you should be following Lara! Buy her Powersheets and start on them the second they arrive! She sent Brooke and I the 2016 booklets and we are 16 pages in and can already feel the impact they are having on our next year!
2. Dapperdesk Planner / Simplified Planner : Another good friend of ours, Emily Ley, is also a champ at providing tools and resources to help people achieve goals. She has a really basic planner that is so powerful and helpful -- reminding you daily what to do and allowing room for grace as you try and work. The dapper desk version is better suited for men and the simplified planner is her girlier version! I hope to carry mine all year!
3. Wunderlist : One of the best to-do lists planning platforms out there. A lot of them can get so busy and overwhelming. I love Wunderlist because it is so simple and straight forward! I'm sure you will to!
Cranky In A Carseat
All parents know that the struggle is real when your child is cranky in the car seat - especially when they are too young and small to face forward. This past Sunday I took June with me to run some errands, giving Brooke some alone time at home.
First, we went to visit my brother and get a few things at his place of work, then we were off to do some Christmas shopping for Brooke, and then a quick stop at Starbucks before heading home. Like most things this time of year, everything took a little longer than I had hoped it would, especially the Starbucks drive thru. I knew that I was pushing the limit on the amount of time June could spend in the car. Her nap was fast approaching and we were still waiting for our coffee in the drive thru lane... and she started to fuss. Normally when Brooke and I are both in the car the passenger can talk to her and she'll turn slightly in her seat and be able to see the passenger with one eye. It's so cute. But I was riding solo and I couldn't see her, and she couldn't see me.
After I got the coffees, we started driving home and June was not enjoying the ride. She was crying and whimpering, so I was trying to sing to her, say her name, clap my hands, pass back any toys to her that I could reach. I totally get why she was upset. She is in the back of the car and she doesn't know where we are, or where we are going, and she can't even see the direction we are headed! I kept telling her, "Don't worry June, we are on our way home, we will be there soon."
That's when it hit me.
My beautiful daughter was teaching me a new lesson. She is really good at that.
I started to think about how often I am frustrated with God because I have no idea what He is doing or where He is going. I am June, facing the wrong way, unaware of what is around me. All my toys have fallen on the floor, which only entertained me for so long, and I feel I've been in my seat for way too long. I am frustrated. I start crying out for help because I am confused and lost and it would seem that I am totally alone.
Meanwhile my heavenly father is in the front seat telling me, "Don't worry T.J. I am driving, I got this, I got you, I love you. You'll be okay."
Life is a confusing road that has its ups and downs, it's dead ends, it's u-turns, and its wrong ways. So often I think I know exactly where I am going, so I start to drive and end up frustrated at the dead ends or with a smashed up car on the side of the road.
Other times I simply take the advice of Carrie Underwood and say "JESUS TAKE THE WHEEL!!!!!!", but usually end up sitting in the back seat, facing the wrong way, complaining the entire time. I want the credit for trusting God but I don't actually want to follow through. I act like an infant unaware of where we are going and who is driving; however, I am an adult, and I need to have an adult relationship with Jesus. I need to stop being cranky in a carseat and sit up front. At least if I am in the front seat I can lean into the driver for comfort instead of screaming in the back seat because I am lost and confused.
God, through Jesus, wants to take you places you never dreamed of. Maybe He is on His way there but He wants you to jump in the front seat to help navigate. Maybe He wants you to see all the mile markers along the way so you can have some idea of where you are going. I don't know. But, I do know that the ride of your life will always be more enjoyed in the front seat hand in hand with the driver, instead of in the back facing the wrong way.
If you haven't even given up the wheel, what are you waiting for? How many accidents and dead ends do you have to run into before you do? And like I said before, listen to the wise Carrie Underwood - let Him take the wheel and when He does, sit in the freaking front seat and enjoy the ride, regardless of where it takes you.
June never stays upset for long!